Was the Devil an Angel in Heaven?
It is a common belief that the devil (Satan) was once a pure and holy angel in heaven, that he was tempted by pride and jealousy and sinned, and that he was cast out of heaven for that reason.
This belief raises many fundamental questions about the nature and character of God Himself, the nature of heaven, the nature of moral law, the nature of angels, and the nature of free will. The subject is profoundly important, although it does not seem nearly as fundamental as it actually is, because all Christians, whether they believe the devil was in heaven or that he was never in heaven, know that the devil is evil and to be resisted. Therefore, it seems pointless and impractical to many to attempt to determine the truth of the matter.
However, it is quite important, in exactly the same way as the belief in the virgin birth of Jesus is essential to salvation. For if Christ was not born of a virgin, then He did not escape the curse of inherited sin and could not offer an unblemished sacrifice as an atonement for our salvation. This simple belief (in the virgin birth) is a fundamental underpinning in the moral law justification of our salvation. In the same way, the correct understanding of whether the devil was in heaven, whether heaven is corruptible, whether angels have free will and can sin, etc., has serious and far-reaching effects. Does God authorize moral evil? Can an infinitely holy Being be the author of moral evil? Did and does God send lying spirits to deceive men? Does He dispatch adulterous spirits, covetous spirits, murderous spirits, etc., to do the work of evil on the earth? What does the scripture mean wherein is stated that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart? Is God partial toward some people, giving some a chance to get saved, while others do not have a chance? At stake is nothing more or less than our understanding of the character of God and the nature of our faith in Him.
If the angels can fall and if some did, then what does it tell us about the character of God, in that we find no scriptural evidence whatsoever of a plan of redemption for them? Especially when this fact is contrasted with the mighty scriptural theme of a plan for the redemption of men, based on an outstanding characteristic of His character— “for God so loved the world.” (John 3:16)
How thankful we are that we do not have to speculate! There is much of the origin of evil that we are not told in the inspired record, but we find that there is enough to give us an adequate foundation of understanding.
A great deal of the belief that the angels can and did fall seems to arise from confusing angelic characteristics with human characteristics. It is imagined that angels, both evil angels and holy angels, have consciences. There is nothing whatsoever in the Word of God to support this belief. If you will examine every reference in the Bible to the conscience, you will see that it is always a feature of men. It is imagined that the demons and the devil suffer remorse for their wickedness, but again, there is nothing in the sacred volume that even hints at such a thing. Some have imagined that the angels committed blasphemy against the Holy Ghost by sinning blatantly, defiantly in the very presence of God, but there is not a word in the Bible that identifies blasphemy against the Holy Ghost with anyone but men. Nor is it explained how angels or men could sin right in the presence of Him who hates sin with a perfect hatred. (See Revelation 6:15-16; 1:17, etc.) In the time of apostasy (a falling away) in about the second and third centuries A.D., we find professed Christians who believed that Genesis 6:2 refers to angels who were so attracted to the fleshly beauty of the daughters of men, that they married them and had offspring, etc.; but again, there is no reason whatsoever to believe anything more than that the saved (men) married the unsaved (women), and that the effect of these unions was “that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5) We readily see that there is a tendency in mankind to convey human characteristics to angels and devils.
There a number of concepts in the Bible that are not addressed by the common descriptions that we use today, yet they are mentioned in principles and sometimes indirectly. A good example would be gambling. Some, especially those with much affection toward this practice, might ask, What’s wrong with gambling? When the reply is given: “It’s like stealing,” this doesn’t make much sense to many of them, because it doesn’t seem like theft in their minds. But when explained that gambling is like stealing in the same way that dueling is like murder—that is, an agreed-upon arrangement that draws the same consequences as non-agreed upon arrangements—then it can be observed that the Bible teaches against gambling and the principle of gambling, just as certainly as it teaches against stealing and the principle of stealing.
You will not find the expression free will in the Bible. Not directly in those words, anyway. But it is emphatically taught over and over in principle, even just simply assumed, everywhere. Such scriptures as Isaiah 7:16 (“For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good…”) teach the concept. Some teach that no being except God has free will (this doctrine is commonly called predestination), and proponents of this belief feel that it belittles God and takes away from His greatness to think that men, angels, or devils can act contrary to His will. Others take the opposite tack, and claim that God made angels so they continually choose to do right or wrong (Matthew 6:10). That is, heaven is like earth; and the angels are like men up there.
God knew that we, as the race of mankind, would end up with these questions, and divided up in these beliefs; and He has given enough in His Word that we can find the truth and know how to believe in these matters.
Consider: God caused the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to grow in the Garden of Eden (on earth), as well as the Tree of Life. But there is no record of a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in heaven. What was this tree? Why did God put it before Adam before Eve was created? (She learned of it after she was created.)
“And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:9)
Without the possibility of doing evil, then what ability is there to choose? But look back beyond this. Evil existed. Good existed, too. How can there be such a thing as evil if there is not such a thing as good? And the opposite is true, also. How can there be such a thing as good (holy) unless there is such a thing as evil? God does not tell us how right and wrong (moral law) came to exist. He simply identifies Himself totally with good. With respect to His character, we read, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16) “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.” (Habbakuk 1:13) “God, that cannot lie.” (Titus 1:2)
Man was created morally upright and good in the image of God. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.” (Genesis 1:27) “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29)
If there had been no Tree of the Knowledge and Evil in the Garden of Eden, there would have been no possibility that man could fall, nor would there have been any possibility that men could voluntarily choose right over evil. The teaching that the devil was a created, holy angel in heaven who morally fell, ignores the crucial role of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This teaching also ignores the fact that the appeal of the temptation is founded on three fundamentals. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16) Notice these three things: (1) the desire of the flesh, (2) the desire of the eyes, (3) the pride of life. Notice how they appealed to Eve. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6) Here are the same three things which are not of the Father (God). Good for food—the desire of the flesh. Pleasant to the eyes—the desire of the eyes. Desired to make one wise—the pride of life. Now if Satan started out as a holy angel in heaven, he had no body, no flesh. There was no tree to appeal to his eyes, as the tree on earth did to Eve. Neither was there a tree and its fruit in heaven to be desired to make one wise. There is nothing in heaven to tempt God, the angels, or men who arrive in that wonderful place, for it is incorruptible (1 Peter 1:4).
Furthermore, we are told of the after effects of Eve and Adam yielding to willful transgression. “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever….” (Genesis 3:22)
The statement, “is become as one of us” is very clumsily translated in English. I will quote a little from Adam Clarke, a Greek and Hebrew scholar: “A very learned man has ventured the following paraphrase, which should not be lightly regarded: ‘And the Lord God said, The man who was like one of us in purity and wisdom, is now fallen and robbed of his excellence; he has added ladaath, to the knowledge of the good, by his transgression the knowledge of the evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live for ever in this miserable state, I will remove him, and guard the place lest he should reenter. Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden.’ ”
All of this is about the fall of man. The supposed fall of Satan and his angels is conspicuous by its total absence. Nowhere do we find something as, “The man has done as the fallen angels did.” The implication is that the moral fall here shown is unique to God’s creation. God immediately begins to speak of eventual steps that will be taken to restore man (Genesis 3:15) to the created plane of moral purity, and the entire Bible supports and speaks of this theme on and on, until it is fulfilled. But of a parallel fall of angels, there is a deafening silence. There are those who believe that Jude 1:6 and 2 Peter 2:4 refer to angels in heaven, simply because the word messengers is translated angels, but the context does not fit. The supposed angels, Satan and his angels, are not cast down in hell and delivered into chains of darkness now. Satan and his angels are loose and working actively. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29) The messengers (angels) in Jude and 2 Peter do fit the situation of Adam and Eve, who were messengers to the human race in that they were created holy, as men should live, and fell from their steadfastness. They brought this message, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) They did not have to fall, either; they could have fled to God for help, saying, “Lord, there is this strange thing that appeared to Eve today, and it said bad things about You! Lord, what is this?” Do you doubt for a moment that God had not made a way of escape for their temptation? But they did not take God’s way of escape, and they fell. Did they ever recover themselves? Or did they die lost? Are they now in chains of darkness, awaiting the final judgment? Oh, what a message! What a horrible end to the messengers! Let us all take warning.